Re: Apple IIGS Memory Expansion Card question.

[Mitchell Spector <mitch2gs@hotmail.com>]

Andrew James Alan Welty <andrew@cci-29palms.com> wrote:

>>> : Most ICs are stored in anti-static plastic tubes or "loose" in lab
>>> : environments, with the exceptions being CMOS ICs (including RAMs),
>>> : which are usually kept in conductive foam when not in tubes.
>>> 
>>> I'd rather use tubes if I can get them. Lots of my ICs are in tubes
>>> because they came to me that way. If you know a supplier of these
>>> tubes I would happily get them and release the ICs from the Styro.
>> 
>> Most of mine came with ICs, and some were "discards" from manufacturing.
>> I expect that many small electronic assemblers would be glad to have
>> someone take them away.  (Then the trick is getting enough of the end
>> closure pins/plugs to allow them to be easily closed and re-opened.)
>
>Easy enough to close off the end of the tube, I've got a few with staples.  

    Speaking of memory, I actually have several dozen 256Kx1 DRAMs that 
are brand-new and still in plastic tubes. They're part of what the former TMS
Peripherals had left of their Apple II stock that I managed to save. These
were sold specifically for Apple IIgs memory expansion boards, such the 
Apple 1 Megabyte card.

    I also have a handful of 1MBx1 DRAMs which were used in some of the
third party boards that used higher density memory.

    When seeking these out, not only do they need to be 256Kx1, 16-pin
DIP and 150ns or faster, but follow CAS before RAS for the refresh order.
For the later, I'd have to dig up a list of manufactures and chip batches
that didn't follow this, though these days your best bet is to just pull the
chips off an old PC board (8088, 8086, 286), plug them in and then run
a disk-based RAM diagnostic on the IIgs.

Mitchell Spector